Sandbox Children's Theatre

Upon confirmation of your booking, a Resource Package will be sent to you, with various activities to help your students connect the show with their curriculum.

James and the Midnight Locomotive
Written and designed to appeal to the Alberta Education Social Studies needs of children from Grades 1-6, this production is specifically designed to focus heavily on the curriculum studied in Grade 3. The production addresses this curriculum by:

Examining how geographic, social, cultural and linguistic factors affect the lives of community residents in Peru, Tunisia, India and Ukraine, through investigating how people live in other places and cultures.

Promoting an appreciation for cultures other than one's own, and an exploration of how human needs are met in various parts of the world. It strongly emphasizes an awareness of and promotes an interest in the beliefs, traditions and customs of
communities throughout the world.

When James is introduced to a newcomer from Ukraine, his intolerance lands him a trip on a magical locomotive - one that takes him on a musical voyage around the world. In each of the countries he visits - Peru, Tunisia, India, and Ukraine - he must learn something important about their culture and traditions in order to eventually return home.

As part of our mandate, our material must have strong messages that encourage tolerance and acceptance of other cultures, and we believe that children need to be exposed to various cultures and viewpoints in order for them to be more accepting of other people in their world. This production puts our protagonist, James, in other people's shoes - in order to make him fully understand what it's like to be different. This, in turn, teaches children empathy and respect, and to look at differences as interesting and exciting - a chance to learn something new about a fellow human being's culture and traditions. Children will learn that these cultural differences are not something to fear, but rather something to embrace.

More Information